Skripal attack suspects have claimed they visited Salisbury to see its famous cathedral
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Tour manager Phil Dargan was marshalling a group of American visitors around the cathedral close in Salisbury, doing his best not to alert them to the fact that they might – just might – be treading in the footsteps of the Skripal attack suspects, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

“I try not do discuss it,” said Dargan. “If anything I make a little joke of it. I suggest they don’t pick anything up. But I think it’s better not to say too much. Not that I believe a word of what that pair say. They’re full of rubbish, aren’t they? They weren’t here to look at the cathedral or Stonehenge. Nobody is swallowing that.”

A British visitor, Jeff Jones, from County Durham, said he had been following the saga with the same sort of interest he usually saved for the spy thrillers he enjoys. “It has been fascinating but the Russians’ explanations just don’t stack up. They would be comical if it wasn’t for the fact that someone has died. The bare-faced cheek of the pair, and of Putin, is really quite shocking.”

The story spun by Petrov and Boshirov was greeted with disbelief but also some anger in Salisbury on Friday. The men claimed on Russian state TV they had been so keen to visit Salisbury cathedral that they travelled to the city on two consecutive days in March.

On day one, 3 March, they said they got to Salisbury train station but were driven back by the slushy conditions, even though they were less than a mile from the cathedral. On 4 March they said they did visit the cathedral and also “may” have been close to the home of the former spy Sergei Skripal, which is two miles in the other direction.

The bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtham, was among those who came forward to undermine their story. Asked if there was CCTV of their visit to the cathedral, he said there was nothing to link them to the building.

Another religious man – Salisbury is a city of churches as well as spies – Kelvin Inglis, the rector of St Thomas’s, pointed out that the pair turned the wrong way out of the station on the Sunday.

“Anyone who knows Salisbury will tell you a left turn from the station takes you away from a cathedral which, with its spire, is not hard to miss. All credit to the investigators who have been able to show these men are lying. I hope they will one day answer for this in court. Truth must prevail against lies whether told by criminals or world leaders or anyone else.”

The facts and figures Petrov and Boshirov reeled off about the cathedral may also erode the credibility of their account. Petrov knew that the spire was 123 metres high and called it the “cathedral of the blessed Virgin Mary”.

Though he is a tour manager, Dargan did not know how tall the cathedral spire was offhand. “Is it about 160 metres?” he asked when questioned by the Guardian. And he had never heard anyone refer to the church by its historical name, the cathedral of the blessed Virgin Mary. “It’s just Salisbury cathedral.” Wikipedia is believed to have been the source of Petrov’s factfile.

But few businesspeople and residents were enjoying the farcical elements of the Russians’ account. Shirley Reeves, of Salisbury City Guides, said every time there was a new development it hit the city. “It’s been hard for us,” she said. “Whenever people think of Salisbury now they think of the Russians. It’s putting people off visiting.”

Matthew Dean, the leader of the city council, said: “People are incredulous. They feel they are being taken for fools. There’s also some anger. It’s not funny. A person has died and four others have been hurt.”

While the Russians’ version of events is not trusted, their account nonetheless muddies the waters yet again. They mentioned, for example, that they visited a cafe and park. “It does make you wonder,” said Gemma, a young mum pushing a pram through Queen Elizabeth Gardens, the main city centre park. “In reality we have no idea where they went. It’s unsettling to think they may have been here in this park up to no good.”

The police have provided a good deal of what is known about the men’s movements in Salisbury – but not all.

“We know what the Russians are saying is rubbish but we don’t know everything they were up to,” said Henry the Cockleman, whose shellfish stall is metres from the bench where the Skripals collapsed. “My trade is down 40%. It feels very quiet today. I think people are still unsettled and unsure.”